Stoddard County to proceed with $2.5M in capital projects

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County Commission will embark on $2.5 million in capital improvements, including the phase one addition to the Stoddard County Jail and repairs and renovations to the Justice Center.

Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis said Tuesday the commission has been setting aside funds for capital improvements for several years. The county has $1,702,236.94, and the 2015 budget includes an additional $930,000 in revenue for capital improvements, making $2,632,236.94 available.

The first portion of the jail was built in 1981, and it was funded by grants. Additions were built in 1992, with the county paying the costs.

The commission began studying ways to expand the jail in 2010. Mathis told the commission at that time the jail had 89 prisoners, the highest since the jail was built. The jail was designed for 38 prisoners.

The total number of prisoners leveled in 2011, but the jail has consistently housed more than 50 prisoners since discussions of expansion began in 2010. Mathis said the jail has averaged in the high 60s and low 70s in prisoners in recent months.

The phase one jail project will include an expansion to the back of the jail, along with renovating the kitchen and expanding the booking and holding areas.

The Justice Center project will include a new roof and repairs to the building's exterior, including fixes to a wooden column at the entrance.

The list of things to be done inside the Justice Center is extensive. It includes work in the Juvenile Detention Center and all the courtrooms.

In many areas, the gypsum-board walls will have to be repaired and repainted, as will some of the concrete masonry. Tile will be replaced in the courtroom galleries and other areas, and windows and doors will be repaired.